They rely too heavily on one player for offense - consider that 22-point gap between their top two scorers, Joe Thornton and Milan Michalek. Their power play has plunged into the NHL's bottom third.

Last season's top goal-scorers - Jonathan Cheechoo with 37 and Patrick Marleau with 32 - are on pace for 24 combined. And then there's all those losses at HP Pavilion.

Here's the crazy part - it doesn't seem to matter.

Check out the standings. As the second half of their season begins tonight at home against Vancouver, San Jose has the third-most points in the Western Conference and fourth most in the NHL.

As Coach Ron Wilson put it the other day: "We've found ways to win when we haven't scored."

The Sharks are among the NHL elite because they keep the puck out of their own net. Only one team, Detroit, has allowed fewer goals or fewer shots. Only one team, Dallas, has a better penalty kill.

The goalie is repaying the confidence General Manager Doug Wilson showed when he signed Evgeni Nabokov to a four-year, $21.5 million contract in February 2006. He has started all 41 games and leads the NHL with 23 wins.

And that poor record at home (7-9-1-3) is more than offset by an NHL-best road record of 16-3-0-2.

Ron Wilson and his players are optimistic about what lies ahead.

"The best part of the whole thing is, I don't know, but I believe we can play a lot better," the coach said.

Defenseman Craig Rivet doesn't hedge.

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"I don't believe we've begun to touch on our potential," he said. "If you ask any guy in this room, 'Are you satisfied?', we're not satisfied."

In October, nobody was suggesting that offense would be a problem for the Sharks. Only one Western Conference team scored more than their 258 goals last season; this season, only one has scored fewer than San Jose's 105.

Ron Wilson said the idea wasn't to trade offense for defense.

"We certainly didn't set out to be No. 1 in the league defensively and not try to score," he said. "We're trying to score, it's just that a couple guys haven't."

There's no need for him to name Cheechoo and Marleau.

Two years ago, Cheechoo had 56 goals, the most in the NHL. Last year, the number dropped to a quite respectable 37. This season, he has five.

Cheechoo won't blame the drop-off on two surgeries for sports hernias that limited his ability to train in the off-season. "That's just something everybody works through, little injuries throughout the year," he said.

He's fine playing on the Sharks' third line with rookie Torrey Mitchell and Patrick Rissmiller. All three have scored in recent games and Cheechoo likes the fact he has been getting more chances.

So is there an answer to the question, what's wrong with Cheechoo?

"For me, it's just a matter of getting a little bit of confidence back," he said. "You go through a spell like this and it's tough to work through it."

Wilson is quick to point out that Cheechoo contributes defensively and is a plus-3. That's in contrast to Marleau, who has seven goals and a team-worst minus-12.

The past four games have been tough on Marleau's plus-minus rating.

"I've been working hard and doing things that were going to help," the Sharks captain said, "but for whatever reason they're bouncing in the net and different things like that. All you can do is work hard and concentrate on the things you can control."

So, similarly, is there an answer to the question, what's wrong with Marleau?

"It's really a game of inches, a game of bounces, and for whatever reasons, it hasn't been there," he said. "There's probably some things I can do differently to improve my chances, but for the most part, it's a humbling game at times."

Marleau and his coach were in the spotlight when the season began because of an apparent rift during the playoffs. The captain says his relationship with Wilson is good, but doesn't elaborate.

In recent postgame comments, Wilson has been critical of Marleau's line, but not him specifically. Still, it's a sensitive topic. Asked about his relationship with the captain, Wilson responded in broad terms.

"You know what? I demand excellence of every guy in that room, whether it's a guy who doesn't dress or a guy who plays 25 minutes every game. End of story," he said. "That's my right as a coach."

He paused.

"That's not my right, that's my job."

One part of Wilson's job has gotten simpler: Who's in net tonight? Nabokov.

"He's been very consistent," Wilson said, "the most consistent I've seen him. What Nabby needed was to be healthy."

Wilson has said that Nabokov's consecutive-starts streak will continue until he shows signs of fatigue. Nabokov says the only thing that exhausts him is the same question he frequently gets from the media: Any fatigue yet?

Nabokov is always quick to share credit with his teammates for the Sharks' defensive performance. They block shots, he points out, so he doesn't face too many. Forwards usually take their defensive responsibilities seriously, cutting down on odd-man rushes.

Still, Nabokov's performance - five shutouts, 2.01 goals-against average, .917 save percentage - has some analysts viewing him as a strong contender for the Vezina Trophy.

One issue surrounding the Sharks at the start of the season - mental toughness - probably can't be answered until the pressures of the postseason. But, players say, there are signs of improvement.

They've continued to win, for example, despite the loss of left wing Ryane Clowe to an Oct. 27 knee injury. They've been able to hold on to recent leads when Minnesota and Columbus mounted comebacks.